 |
Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
 |
|
Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
|
 |
Coastal regions and
small islands
What’s at Stake?
Their significance
- As meeting places for peoples of many origins, coasts harbour intricate social and cultural mosaics.
- Many of the Earth’s most diverse, complex and productive ecosystems are in coastal areas.
- Coastal resources are of utmost importance for world food security
- Islands - coastal regions in their entirety - nurture and sustain unique social, cultural and ecological landscapes.
- Small Island Developing States, by making the most of restricted resources, provide lessons on living in a finite yet global world.
Friction and inequalities
- Some 60% of the world's population lives within 60 km of the sea and this figure is likely to rise to 75% by the year 2025.
- Of the world’s 23 mega-cities, 16 are in the coastal belt.
- Increasing competition for diminishing resources and the growing disparity between those who have and those who have not, make coastal areas flash points for conflict.
- Tourism, the world's top growth industry, places inordinate pressure upon coastal and island peoples and their environment.
- For local communities, managing coastal resources is rendered all the more difficult by the globalization of the world economy.
